The Who Rocks America 1982

The band's swan song as a touring entity (until 1989, that is), "The Who Rocks America" finds them in slightly battered but still very listenable and watchable form. Kenney Jones has settled comfortably into his role as replacement drummer despite vocalist Roger Daltrey's reported antipathy toward him, and they pack twenty-two songs into their 115-minute set. (A few career highlights like 'Magic Bus', 'Behind Blue Eyes', and 'You Better You Bet' are notably absent.) This is not The Who at the top of their game--Daltrey's voice, in particular, is beginning to display some wear and tear--and therefore not essential, but it's fun for diehard fans. Pete Townsend's playing is fine throughout; he's correctly regarded as a great songwriter, but underrated as a guitarist. Highlights: bassist John Entwistle's performance of 'Boris the Spider'; the 'Pinball Wizard'/'See Me, Feel Me' medley; and 'Naked Eye'.

Please ignore the one reviewer that said this was a poor film. This performance and video are truly excellent, this had me riveted for years as a portrayal of the Who on an excellent night, yes later in their history, post Keith Moon, but absolutely sharp.

It was acknowledged that this was an excellent show when, 4 years later, the audio of this exact same concert was released on a CD called "The Who Live from Toronto." On wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_from_Toronto_%28The_Who_album%29 I would seriously love to have a copy of this like I used to. High points are many but even new songs like 'Eminence Front' sound incredible... the classics are delivered flawlessly. They do "Young man blues" (Orig. from Live at Leeds) and it's awesome though Roger screws the lines up, funny.

Filmed at the end of their career, The Who Rocks America was well filmed, clearly done, and has some fine rock moments. All the good songs are here and the hard edge of Townshend's guitar is great! Daltrey's vocals are a little strained though and not as good as usual.

NOTE: Includes some strong lyrics (f*ck mostly)

I have this on Hi-Fi Stereo VHS and man I loved this show. I sure wish it could be released on DVD. My tape is now degraded and has many dropouts in both sound and video. I really believe this is one of the last shows that captures ALL of them at the top of their game. Roger's voice does show some signs of giving up but it really is a great show. If you can find a good used copy somewhere scoop it up because it is good! Come on Pete, remaster it to DVD ! This was supposed to be their "Farewell" tour from North America but of course they have returned to the U.S. several times since then but each time seeming to lose just a little bit of that chemistry that made them so famous.

More of a curiosity for hardcore fans than an enjoyable concert film, this tape is married by lackluster performances and a terribly muddy sound mix. The sound on this "Stereo" VHS is even worse in the DVD age. In light of other concert videos from the time such as the Talking Heads film "Stop Making Sense" (released just two years after), I think this tape would of sounded mediocre even back in 1982.

A few laughs as Daltrey gets his microphone cord tangled up in Townshend's guitar lead after one of his patented mic twirls. Also the dated 80's video effects are also amusing.

Maybe a remixed DVD would bring the star rating up.

Update: this was released as a DVD in 2006 under the title "The Who: Live from Toronto". Unfortunately, the sound mix is not really any better.